n. 



\0l5 

A Two Months' Tour 



IN 



CANADA 

AND 

TfiE UNITED STATES 

IN THE AUTUMN OF 1889 



SIR HENRY EDWARDS 




Qass_ ..F.i.6^- 
Book < E*t 



A TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 
CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 



A TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

CANADA 



AND 



THE UNITED STATES, 

IN. THE AUTUMN OF 1889. 



BY 



SIR HENRY EDWARDS, 

AUTHOR OF 
' HOW TO PASS THIS WINTER.' 



LONDON : 

CHAPMAN AND HALL, LIMITED. 

1889. 



■II I " 

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A TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

CANADA 



AND 



THE UNITED STATES. 



We left London on Friday, 30th August, 
1889, at two p.m., by London and North- 
western Railway, in a comfortable front 
coupt — bright, sunny afternoon — and we saw 
energetic harvest operations going on all 
along the line, and arrived at Liverpool at 
6.45. Luckily, quarters had been secured 
for us at North- Western Hotel. Every 
room was engaged, much to the annoyance 
and vexation of many who were obliged to 

B 



TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



put up with very second-rate accommoda- 
tion, and who will in future remember the 
necessity of securing rooms for the night 
prior to the departure of the mail steamer. 
All was bustle and confusion at the hotel. 
Such crowds of people, and such piles of 
luggage ! It is, indeed, a sight to see Ame- 
rican ladies returning home after ■ doing ' 
Europe — such huge boxes, five and six feet 
long, and three to four feet deep, and many 
of them. I was in light marching order — 
two moderate-sized portmanteaus and dress- 
ing-bag. The head porter of the hotel 
labelled them and gave me a voucher pro- 
mising safe delivery in my cabin, where I 
found them when I went on board the 
Cunard steamer Etruria at twelve o'clock. 
It is, indeed, an exciting scene to see 620 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 3 

passengers crowding on board ship, and the 
overwhelming amount of luggage taken home 
by the Americans. Luckily for me, I was 
free from anxiety, and could look on with 
complacency at the worry and excitement of 
so many hundreds stowing themselves and 
their worldly goods away. And then came 
the anxiety of getting comfortable seats at 
table. Luckily the captain invited me to sit 
at his table at the second dinner, served at 
seven o'clock. The 620 were all saloon 
passengers, and it seemed wonderful how 
they were all provided for. One half had 
breakfast at eight, lunch at twelve, and 
dinner at 5.30; the second, breakfast at 
nine, luncheon at one, and dinner at seven, 
and it is surprising how quickly all get 
settled down. 



TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



We left Liverpool at one p.m., weather 
fine, smooth sea, but no sunshine. We 
arrived at Queenstown on Sunday morning 
at six o'clock. Many passengers went on 
shore. It was a grey morning, with a cool 
breeze. Passengers and mails came along- 
side at one p.m., and we at once got under 
way ; the sun shone, and every one settled 
down for the voyage. 

Out of the 620 passengers, I think the 
odd twenty were English, all the rest Ameri- 
cans, and almost every one had a large cane 
reclining chair, enabling them to recline at 
full length. The whole of the upper deck 
was lined with these chairs on both sides, 
and any number of pillows, cushions, and 
rugs — only a small passage to pass between 
them, and I could not but think it looked 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 5 

like a vast hospital. I must confess I would 
never even dream of taking a trip across the 
Atlantic for pleasure in a popular Cunard 
steamer with 600 homeward-bound Ameri- 
cans. I certainly should prefer a less popular 
ship and fewer passengers. There was no 
getting free of the smell of cooking in the 
saloon, as meals were going all day long ; the 
smoking-room was inconveniently crowded. 

I had a good-sized, comfortable cabin, but 
•it was below the saloon, and like an oven, 
well-nigh suffocating, and the ports had to be 
kept closed. However, we made a quick 
passage. On Monday, at twelve o'clock, we 
had run 457 miles; Tuesday, 461 ; Wednes- 
day, 470 ; Thursday, 462 ; Friday, 501 ; and 
we arrived at the landing-stage in New 
York harbour at eleven o'clock on Saturday 



TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



morning. We had hardly any sunshine 
throughout the voyage, and the latter part 
we had occasional fog, and the screeching 
fog-horn startled us at intervals, but we had 
comparatively a smooth sea. I came to the 
conclusion that a journey across the Atlantic 
is all very well as means to an end ; but to 
take a sea-trip for pleasure I infinitely prefer 
the Mediterranean. 

I landed, and was free of the Custom 
House with my luggage at one o'clock, and, 
as New York has no charms for me, I drove 
direct to the Central Station — a long drive 
through a busy part of the city — and secured 
a section in the Pullman sleeping-car for 
Montreal. I then felt myself free for three 
or four hours, and drove through Broadway 
and round Central Park. I was much struck 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 



with the material improvement and signs of 
wealth in the city — all the old crude buildings 
cleared away, and magnificent offices, stores, 
and hotels erected, giving unmistakable signs 
of great prosperity ; but the racket and noise 
was well-nigh unbearable. Since my last visit 
a new tramway has been laid through the 
very centre of Broadway, from end to end, 
and one company alone runs a car every 
minute throughout the day. This is in addi- 
tion to the other trams and the numerous 
carts, waggons, and private vehicles. The 
great noise and confusion can be more easily 
imagined than described. The granite pav- 
ing-stones don't add to its serenity. I dined 
&t the Union Hotel, close to Central Station, 
at six o'clock, and at 7.30 started for Mon- 
treal, and passed a comparatively comfortable 



TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



night in the train, and arrived at eight a.m. 
Sunday morning. 

Sir Donald Smith kindly sent to the 
station for me, and on arrival gave me a 
hearty welcome. I found he had visitors 
staying with him — Lady Shrewsbury and 
Lady Selkirk — who were making a tour of 
America and Canada, simply with their two 
maids. They only arrived the evening be- 
fore my arrival. We all met at breakfast, 
then went to church and had a very good 
service. After luncheon we devoted our- 
selves in admiration of the art treasures in 
Sir Donald's picture gallery and museum. 
There are very fine pictures, and a large 
collection of very choice, valuable Japanese 
bronzes, and all sorts of curios. There is a 
banquetting-room, in addition to the ordinary 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 9 

room. Our host is most hospitable ; we had 
dinner parties every day, except Tuesday, 
when we all dined with Sir George and Lady 
Stephen. 

We visited all the places of interest in 
and around Montreal, of which there are 
very many ; the drive round the mountain 
and the commanding views from the summit 
are very charming, also the steamboat ex- 
cursion down the Lachine Rapids. The 
population is 250,000, and rapidly in- 
creasing; bricks and mortar abound in all 
directions. 

I left Montreal at 8.40 p.m. on Friday, 
the 13th of September. Luckily I had the 
drawing-room of the car appropriated to me, 
and found it most comfortable, and it miti- 
gated the weariness of three nights and three 



io Tiro MONTHS 1 TOUR IN 

days in the train. I must say the Canadian 
Pacific Railway is admirable in all re- 
spects — the line runs easy and smooth, the 
dining cars are luxurious, and the cuisine 
very good, and very superior to anything I 
ever met with on the Grand Trunk Railway. 
I cannot say the country between Montreal 
and Winnipeg is very picturesque. 

We stopped at Sudbury, where there is a 
branch railway to St. Paul and Minneapolis. 
Sudbury is a considerable copper -mining 
district, and is extending rapidly. Smelting 
furnaces are in course of erection. We pass 
through hills, forests, and lakes, and on the 
second morning after leaving Montreal we 
catch glimpses of Lake Superior, and soon 
we are running along its precipitous shore ; 
on the right are tree-clad mountains, mostly 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES, n 

the green pine, and there are rocks all around. 
For many hours we continue along the lake, 
hour after hour we glide through tunnels and 
deep rock cuttings, over immense embank- 
ments, bridges, and viaducts, everywhere 
amazed at the great difficulties that had to be 
encountered in making the line. 

We crossed the Nepigon River, famous 
for its trout, ran down the shore of Thunders 
Bay, and stopped at Port Arthur, a thousand 
miles from Montreal, a beautifully situated 
city, but quite a mushroom. Eight years 
since it was a mere landing-place, and now it 
is a flourishing town with a population of 
5,000, apparently carrying on a prosperous 
trade, and the country around is getting 
rapidly cultivated. Only four miles further we 
came to Fort William, where there is con- 



iz TITO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



sidcrable trade carried on. Long piers and 
wharves and a considerable amount of ship- 
ping ; and the great railway grain elevator, 
looming above all, is a monster, holding 
twelve hundred thousand bushels ; and every- 
thing is new — the creation of two years. 

The country between Fort William and 
Winnipeg is a wild, broken region, with rapid 
rivers and lakes, and contains nothing of 
interest — poor soil, with poplar and small 
spruce-trees ; and we hardly saw a living 
thing for very many miles, until our near 
approach to Winnipeg. Wolseley led his 
army from Fort William to Winnipeg in 
1870, using the more or less connected rivers 
and lakes much of the way ; at that time it 
was called Fort Garry, and there were but a 
few wooden huts, and now there is a hand- 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 13. 

some city, capital of the province of Manitoba, 
of over 35,000 people, and is growing rapidly, 
and has street railways, electric lights, hand- 
some schools and colleges, a fine hospital, 
great flour mills and grain elevators. Since 
the great boom of 1880 and 1883 there has 
been a comparative quietness over the place, 
but there are now signs of revival, a few good 
harvests are wanted to set all alive again ; 
the cost of living is dear, and house-rent very 
high. Winnipeg has become what it always 
must be — the commercial focus of the North- 
West; situated where the forest ends and 
the vast prairies begin, with thousands of 
miles of river navigation to the North, South,, 
and West, and railways radiating in every 
direction. 

Winnipeg is on a broad plain, and for 



i 4 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

many miles is as green and level as a billiard- 
table, not a bit of rising ground to be seen ; 
there are numerous well-tilled farms and 
comfortable farmhouses, with a quantity of 
cattle half hidden in the grass, but there are 
very few trees. About six miles out of 
Winnipeg Sir D. Smith has a charming farm 
residence, replete with every comfort, which 
is always kept in- readiness for his friends, 
and all repaired there, including the Ladies 
Shrewsbury and Selkirk : we went over the 
yards and saw some very choice cattle and 
sheep, and five buffaloes, which are most 
interesting objects since their almost ex- 
termination. 

Fifty-five miles from Winnipeg is Portage 
la Prairie, another city of a day's growth, with 
grain elevators and flour mills, with busy 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 15 

streets and substantial houses ; and eighty 
miles further we reach Brandon, a prosperous 
town of 5,000, with large grain elevators or 
warehouses at the station. 

Leaving Brandon we reach the great 
Prairie Steppes leading to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, a most prolific soil : the horizon only 
limits the view, and as far as the eye can 
reach the prairie is dotted with newly made 
farms — here is produced in the greatest 
perfection the most famous wheat, known as 
Hard Fyfe wheat of Manitoba. 

Three hundred miles from Winnipeg we 
passed through the famous Bell Farm, em- 
bracing 100 square miles of land, 64,000 acres, 
the largest arable farm in the world. It was 
bought of the Government at five shillings 
per acre. About 1500 acres are now under 



16 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

cultivation ; the produce on an average is 
twenty bushels per acre. There is a 
church, school, hotel, flour mills, making 
quite a village, and neat square cottages of 
the labourers dot the plain. 

The great wheat belt of Manitoba is 
about 500 miles long and 250 wide, capable 
of producing sixteen hundred million bushels 
of wheat if it were all under cultivation. 

We reached Regina, the headquarters of 
the North-West Mounted Police, a magnifi- 
cent body of men engaged in keeping the 
Indians in order. They are young, picked 
men, thoroughly drilled, and governed by 
strict military discipline. We then had a 
dull, dreary country to pass through ; for 
over 200 miles the prairie was covered with 
burnt grass. We had a hot sun, and the 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 17 

carriages were stuffy and anything but 
agreeable ; there was not a tree to be seen. 
We then pass through what is said to be 
a very paradise for sportsmen ; the lakes 
become more frequent. Some are salt, some 
are alkaline, but most of them are clear and 
fresh; it is said wild geese, cranes, ducks, 
— a dozen varieties — snipe and curlew are 
found here in myriads. Prairie chickens are 
abundant on the high ground, and antelope 
are common on the hills. We have crossed 
the high broken country, and far away we 
see the Cypress Hills appearing as a deep 
blue line, and for want of anything else we 
watch these gradually rising as we draw near 
to « them ; the railway skirts their base for 
many miles. 

At Maple Creek, a little town with exten- 



Tiro MONTHS' TOUR IN 



sive yards for the shipment of cattle, some of 
which are driven here from Montana, feeding 
and fattening on the way, we see the red 
coats of the Mounted Police, who are looking 
after a large encampment of Indians near 
by; there are many Indians on the station 
platform, of high and low degree, and squaws, 
mostly bent on trading — a picturesque-looking 
lot, but very dirty withal. Leaving the sta- 
tion, we catch sight of their encampment — 
many of them in blankets of brilliant colours — 
hundreds of ponies feeding on the rich 
grasses; a line of trees in the background, 
seeming more beautiful because of their 
rarity, making, with the Cypress Hills in 
the distance, a picture novel and striking. 
In about two hours we arrived at Medicine 
Hut, a finely situated and rapidly growing 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 19 

town, a thousand miles from Lake Superior; 
there are extensive coal mines in the district. 
Some time after we approach Crowfoot Sta- 
tion, and we are all alive for the first view 
of the Rocky Mountains, yet more than a 
hundred miles away. Soon we see them, 
a glorious line of snowy peaks, seemingly 
an impenetrable barrier. Peak rises behind 
peak, then dark bands of forest that reach 
up to the snow-line come into view ; the 
snow-fields and glaciers glisten in the sun- 
light, and the passes are seen deep in the 
heart of the mountains. 

We have been running by the tree- 
lined banks of the Bow River, and crossing 
over we find ourselves on a plateau where 
stands the new city of Calgary, at the base 
of the Rocky Mountains, 2262 miles from 



20 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

Montreal, and 3416 feet above the sea. 
Calgary is an infant of three years old, 
with a population of 2500, the most im- 
portant as well as handsomest town between 
Brandon and Vancouver. It is charmingly 
situated on a hill-girt plateau ; it is the centre 
of the trade of the great ranching country, 
and said to be the finest ranching country; 
the area is about 4,000,000 acres, well 
watered by streams from the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Cattle and horses graze at will all 
over the country, summer and winter alike. 
In the spring and autumn all the ranchmen 
join in a ' round up/ to collect and sort out 
the animals according to the brands of the 
different owners, and it is then the cowboy 
appears in all his glory. Calgary is growing 
fast into a big place. There is no gas ; 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 21 

electric light lights up the whole place : it 
is the centre of the great cattle, horse, and 
sheep trade, and an important station of the 
Mounted Police. 

Our next resting-place was Banff, the 
station of the National Park of Canada, 
and we were told it was the summit of the 
Rocky Mountains ; but it is the summit only 
in an engineering sense, for the mountains 
still lift their white heads five to seven 
thousand feet above us. We arrived at 
five o'clock in the morning ; it was dark, 
but, as the dawn began to break, we soon 
became aware of the magnificent scenery 
in the heart of the Rockies, and when 
the sun rose and lit up the snowy peaks 
of the impressive mountains it was a scene 
never to be forgotten. The railway 



22 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

company have built a grand hotel, capable 
of accommodating 300 guests, in a situa- 
tion commanding most lovely views. 

The first thing I did when I reached the 
hotel was to have a sulphur bath, for which 
Banff is famous. The two principal springs 
which are being utilised flow from the central 
spur of Sulphur Mountain, 700 feet above the 
level of Bow River. The main spring gives 
at the rate of one and a half millions of 
gallons daily, at a temperature of 115 ; on 
the left of the mountain is a cave and a large 
pool of about thirty feet wide and three to 
six feet deep, in which hot springs bubble, 
making the atmosphere well-nigh unbearable 
with the fumes of the sulphur. Some won- 
derful cures have been made by persons 
suffering from rheumatism bathing in this 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 23 

cave. A crutch hangs on the wall with this 
label, ' Owner has gone home/ 

Banff will doubtless become celebrated by 
the sulphur baths, but quite independent of 
them the exquisite scenery and the bracing 
air will be attraction enough for hosts of 
visitors. The entire Banff Valley and adja- 
cent mountains, amounting to 100,000 acres, 
have been set apart by the Dominion Govern- 
ment as a national park for ever ; it is twenty- 
four miles long and nine wide, and it embraces 
fifteen miles of the Bow River, of which nine 
miles are navigable for small steamers, six 
miles of the Spray River flowing through a 
forest. The park also contains the Devil 
Lake, twelve miles long and two wide, and 
the Vermillion Lakes ; they are deep and clear, 
and mountain ranges on each side, rising thou- 



24 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



sands of feet, present scenery of the greatest 
beauty, and just at this season it is surpass- 
ingly lovely — the bright green pine, the bright 
yellow of the fading poplar, and the brilliant 
red of the dying maple, whilst the Bow River 
winds through the whole, a bright blue, and 
the mountain range of eternal snow forming 
a panorama of mountains ten to eleven thou- 
sand feet high, which cannot be surpassed in 
beauty and grandeur. 

It is, indeed, a place to remember, and I 
should have much liked to prolong my stay. 
We stayed two entire days, and were aroused 
at four o'clock in the morning to catch the 
train leaving Banff at five. The railway re- 
joins the Bow River, and follows it up through 
a forested valley. The view backward is 
very fine ; the Vermillion Lakes are skirted, 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES, 25 

and ahead a magnificent view is had of Mount 
Massive, and the snow-peaks and a small 
glacier between Mount Hector and Goal 
Mountain both over 10,000 feet. Then the 
highest point of the railway is reached, 5300 
feet above the sea ; at the summit is a lake, 
marshy and shallow, from which trickles a 
stream at each end, one of which travels 2000 
miles to the Atlantic, and the other 1 500 to 
the Pacific Ocean. And now we bid adieu to 
Bow River. Ten miles below the summit we 
round the base of Mount Stephen — a stupen- 
dous mountain rising directly from the rail- 
way to a height of more than 8000 feet, 
holding on its shoulders, almost above our 
heads, a glacier whose shining green ice, 500 
feet thick, is over a precipice of dizzy height ; 
it is so near that we can imagine we hear the 



26 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



crackling of the ice. The scenery is now 
sublime and almost terrible ; the line clings to 
the mountain side on the left, and the valley 
on the right rapidly deepens until the river is 
seen as a gleaming thread a thousand feet 
below. The train, with two powerful engines 
reversed, and every break screwed to its 
tightest, slides down a gradient of 1250 feet 
in less than ten miles. Every now and then 
we crawl over a trestle bridge two or three 
hundred feet above some gorge torn out of 
the mountain side by a rushing torrent. 

Two hours from the summit, and 3000 
feet below it, the gorge suddenly expands, 
and we see before us, high up against the 
sky, a jagged line of snowy peaks of new 
forms and colours. A wide, deep, forest- 
covered valley intervenes, holding a broad 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 27 

and rapid river. This is the Columbia. The 
new mountains before us are the Selkirks, 
and we have now crossed the Rockies. 

Sweeping round into the Columbia Valley 
we have a glorious mountain view. To the 
north and south, as far as the eye can reach, 
we have the Rockies on the one hand and 
the Selkirks on the other, widely differing in 
aspect, but each indescribably grand. De- 
scending, we reach in a few minutes the 
Glacier House — a delightful hotel situated 
almost facing the Great Glacier, and at the 
foot of the grandest of all the peaks of the 
Selkirks — Sir Donald, an acute pyramid of 
naked rock, shooting up nearly 8000 feet 
above us. In the dark valley below we see 
the glacier-fed river glistening through the 
tree-tops, and everywhere the mountains rise 



t£ TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

in majesty and immensity beyond all com- 
parison. We are now confronted by the 
Gold range — another grand, snow-clad series 
of mountains. The deep and narrow pass 
takes us forty miles through this range of 
almost vertical cliffs and lovely lakes ; and 
then the Valley of Thompson River — a wide, 
almost treeless valley, occupied by farms and 
cattle ranches — and here for the first time irri- 
gating ditches are seen. Flocks and horses 
are grazing everywhere. 

We then pass through tunnel after tunnel, 
emerging into a narrow valley, and the rugged 
mountains frown upon us again, and for hours 
we wind along their sides, looking down upon 
a river. We suddenly cross the deep, black 
gorge of the Fraser River on a massive 
bridge of steel, seemingly constructed in mid- 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 29 

air, plunge through a tunnel, and enter the 
famous canyon of the Fraser. The view 
here changes from the grand to the terrible. 
Through this gorge, so deep and narrow in 
many places that the rays of the sun hardly 
enter, the black and ferocious waters of the 
great river force their way. We are in the 
heart of the cascade range, and above the 
walls of the canyon we occasionally see the 
mountain peaks gleaming against the sky. 
Hundreds of feet above the river is the 
railway, notched into the face of the cliffs, 
now and then crossing a great chasm by a 
tail viaduct, or disappearing in a tunnel 
through a projecting spur of rock. For 
hours we are deafened by the roar of waters 
below, and we are glad when we see the 
bright sunshine once more. The scene is 



TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



fascinating in its terror, and we finally leave 
it gladly yet regretfully. At the end of the 
canyon the river widens out, and we see the 
villages of the Indians and herds of cattle. 
In the far distance we see Mount Baker, 
14,000 feet above us. 

As the valley widens out, farms and 
orchards become more frequent ; we cross 
large rivers, flowing into the Fraser, and see 
shoals of salmon ; the river was literally alive 
with them. I was credibly informed that 
the quantity of salmon taken out of the 
Fraser River this season was valued at three 
million dollars, and a gentleman, a partner in 
two canneries, told me himself that they had 
captured 30,000 salmon in one day ; there 
was such a large quantity tinned this season 
they were afraid markets would be glutted 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 31 

and prices reduced. There are three separate 
runs of salmon every year. Passing through 
a forest of mammoth trees, some of them 
twelve feet in diameter and nearly three 
hundred feet high, we find ourselves on 
the tide waters of the Pacific. Following 
down the shore for half-an-hour, we arrived 
at Vancouver on Sunday afternoon, the 22 nd 
September, the terminus of the Canadian 
Pacific Railway, having had nine days and 
nights 1 travel from Montreal. We took up 
our quarters at the Vancouver Hotel, be- 
longing to the Canadian Pacific Company, 
and a most charming hotel we found it, re- 
plete with every comfort and beautifully 
furnished. Vancouver is the youngest town 
in Canada ; it was commenced four years 
ago, when it was a forest. It was burnt 



TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



down two years ago. It is now called a 
city. It seems to have grown by magic. 
There are fine schools and four large churches, 
and I saw the design for a very pretty opera- 
house that is to be erected next spring. 
There is a beautiful natural park reserved. 
We drove through it and admired the fine 
trees for at least nine miles over a good road. 
I think there is a great future for Van- 
couver; it is beautifully situated, commanding 
charming views. Rising directly from the sea 
is a beautiful group of the Cascade Moun- 
tains, and there is a fine harbour, suitable for 
ocean steamers, and will be the highway to 
Japan and China. During my stay at Van- 
couver, I received much kind attention and 
hospitality from Mr. Abbot, the representative 
of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. 



CANADA AND THE UN/TED STATES. 33 

On Wednesday, the 24th, I started with 
my friend, Mr. Symons, by steamer to Vic- 
toria, British Columbia, a journey of six 
hours. We had a delightful passage through 
the Gulf of Georgia, with rugged coast scenery, 
through islands, quite a picturesque coasting 
voyage, and arrived at Victoria at eight p.m., 
and went to Driard's Hotel, where quarters 
had been secured for us. I visited Victoria 
in 1883, when it was comparatively a mere 
country village. On my return now I find it 
a considerable commercial city, with a popu- 
lation of 12,000, and rapidly increasing, bricks 
and mortar in all directions, and a vast 
amount of labour employed. At night the 
streets are lighted by electric lamps on masts 
two hundred feet high, looking like so many 
moons. The effect is striking and light per- 

D 



Tiro MONTHS' TOUR IN 



fection. The country around is pretty ; there 
is a comfortable club, and a fair amount of 
society. We drove out to Esquimalt, to pay 
a visit to Admiral Henage on board the 
Swiftsttre. Unfortunately for us he was on 
shore at a lawn-tennis gathering. We had 
luncheon, went over the ship, the weathe 
was lovely, and we enjoyed our visit. The 
harbour is very pretty, and abounds with 
fish. 

We left Victoria for San Francisco on 
board the City of Pueblo steamer. We re- 
solved on taking the long sea route, having 
had so much railway travelling. Most per- 
sons take the short sea route by Paget Sound 
to Seattle and Tacoma ; but as I visited those 
places in 1883, when I was at the opening of 
the Northern Pacific Railway, I was content 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 35 

to take the long sea route. We had large, 
roomy deck cabins. The sea was calm, 
weather fine, but very little sunshine. We 
had a comfortable passage, and arrived within 
the Golden Gate in the beautiful harbour of 
San Francisco at 5.30 p.m., just fifty-four 
hours from the time of our leaving Victoria. 
We had the fog-horn going part of the day. 
Luckily, the mist cleared away, and we had 
a lovely view of the harbour, with the 
setting sun lighting up the fortified island 
of Alcatraz, and all around. 

Our friends were awaiting us on shore, 
and drove us off to the Palace Hotel— 
an enormous hotel, admirably arranged ; on 
one side the European style of paying for 
rooms without meals, and the other the 
American style, five dollars a-day, including 



TWO MONTHS 1 TOUR IN 



meals. I had capital quarters, with bath and 
dressing-rooms a V Americaine. The cuisine 
was excellent. We stayed nearly a week, 
and did the city from end to end. It is in- 
deed a wonderful place, considering its youth 
and marvellous growth. The streets literally 
swarm with people ; fine broad thoroughfares, 
and the most perfect cable tram-cars going in 
all directions, uphill and downhill, travelling 
as smooth as glass. I cannot say I am as 
enamoured of the city as I am of the harbour. 
There are but few really fine houses, but 
there are a vast number of very pretty houses 
nearly all built of wood. In one of our drives 
we saw a house of three storeys being re- 
moved from one avenue to another. The 
country all around was parched and brown, 
owing to the dryness of the season, but I can 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 37 

imagine it is very beautiful in the spring of 
the year. September is the hottest month. 
There is a fine park of great extent, with 
magnificent roads. We drove through Golden 
Gate Park to Cliff House and Seal Rocks, 
covered with seals. Unfortunately, there is 
always a great deal of mist or fog hanging 
about, almost daily coming and going, in an 
extraordinary way. Not a day passed with- 
out misty hours, and it is only now and then 
we can see the beauties of the place. I was 
made a member of the Union Pacific Club, 
and when moving about the elegant and com- 
modious rooms I could hardly realise the fact 
that I was so far away from Pall Mall and 
Piccadilly. I went to two theatres, and 
although I cannot say much of the perform- 
ances, I must confess the theatres are much 



38 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

better than we have in London. Sir 
Julian and Lady Goldsmid, with two of their 
daughters, arrived at the Palace Hotel, and I 
had the pleasure of joining them in doing 
one of the great sights of San Francisco, that 
of going through ' China Town.' There are 
some 30,000 to 40,000 Chinese, and they are 
packed in a quarter of the city in the smallest 
possible space. They have joss-houses, curio 
shops, restaurants, saloons, and all kinds of 
Chinese work going on. Our visit was be- 
tween eight and nine in the evening, and the 
narrow streets were crowded with people, and 
in narrower passages, where the people were 
packed almost like herrings in a barrel, the 
atmosphere was far from being the purest. 
We were taken to a theatre, and such a scene 
I never witnessed in my life before. We 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 39 

could not gain admittance at the entrance 
owing to its being crowded, but, by way of 
favour, and to oblige our guide, who was a 
gentleman of influence, we were passed in in 
single file at the back, through a very cir- 
cuitous narrow passage. Mounting two or 
three steps, then another narrow passage, and 
more steps, all dimly lighted by oil lamps, at 
length we arrived on the platform, and it was 
with difficulty we could even find standing- 
room. And the sight before us I can never 
forget. The place was simply a mass of 
human beings welded together. Where we 
were we could hardly move hand or foot, but 
they were literally jammed ; and thinking, as 
I did, of the very narrow, circuitous, wooden 
passage we had passed through, and the mere 
possibility of fire, I made my exit as quick as 



40 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



I could, and was glad when I breathed fresh 
air again, and resolved if I ever revisited San 
Francisco I should give China Town a very- 
wide berth. We passed a very pleasant 
morning at the wholesale fruit market, and 
saw very large quantities of fruit of all kinds, 
and we were not a little surprised at the 
extremely low prices, large boxes of good 
grapes selling, by the box, at the rate of a cent, 
or halfpenny, per pound. Melons, peaches, 
figs, strawberries, apples, pears, all in great 
abundance. I saw a gentleman from Los 
Angeles, who told me he had a vineyard of 
eighteen acres bearing good fruit, but they 
would not pay the cost of picking and carriage 
to market. 

We left Frisco on Thursday evening, the 
3rd of October, for Salt Lake City, and I 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 41 



must confess I did not feel very gay at the 
prospect of the long railway journey. We 
crossed the Pacific, and took the train at 
Oakland ; this is a suburb of San Francisco, 
with a large population. We started at 6.30, 
and passed two nights and one day travelling 
through the State of Nevada — a great mining 
country and nothing picturesque ; it was a 
wearying journey. We stopped at Reno, 
where a fair was held ; the stock exhibit was 
fine ; this is in close proximity to Virginia 
City, where there are many mines. 

I was glad to leave the train on our 
reaching Salt Lake City on Saturday 
morning. I felt I wanted refreshing. We 
drove to the Walker House Hotel, and, 
having settled our quarters, we at once went 
off to bathe in the Great Salt Lake at Gar- 



TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



field Beach, eighteen miles by rail from the 
city, on a branch of the Union Pacific. 
Commodious bath-houses and a fine pavilion, 
accommodating 400 people, with restaurant, 
&c, and is very much resorted to in the 
bathing season. We enjoyed it immensely ; 
the water is marvellously buoyant — it seems 
impossible to sink : it requires skill to keep 
one's body in position. The lake is 4280 feet 
above sea level, and so salt, no living thing 
exists in it. It is 100 miles long and forty 
miles wide, and contains tw r enty per cent.* 
of salt. That which struck me as the most 
extraordinary was an island on the lake, called 
Church Island, sixteen miles long and seven 
miles broad, where 10,000 sheep graze and a 



Ordinary sea water is three to seven per cent. 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 43 

quantity of cattle. There are farms on the 
island, and several springs of the purest 
water. It is four miles from the shore. 

We attended a fair, at which we saw a 
baby show. There were only twenty-nine 
competitors : there were five prizes. One 
lady exhibited twins, and got third prize. 

We felt much refreshed by our salt bath, 
and returned, and found the City en grande 
fete, it being the annual conference of the 
Mormons ; the place was swarming with the 
Mormon community from all parts. The 
Tabernacle was the great place of assembly. 
Lectures were delivered in succession through- 
out the day. We went morning and after- 
noon for a short time ; the crowd was so 
great it was difficult to find room. The 
building is 250 ft. long, 150 ft. wide, and 



44 TWO MONTHS 1 TOUR IN 



80 ft. high ; the roof is a single oval span, 
joined on a strong lattice work of timbers, 
resting on forty-six pillars of red sandstone ; 
it will seat 13,452 persons — the largest roof 
in the world unsupported by columns, and 
built entirely of wood. It can be cleared in 
seven minutes ; there are eight large door- 
ways opening outways. The organ is one of 
the finest, and has 3000 pipes ; the acoustic 
properties are perfect, the voice, not very 
loudly delivered, being audible all over the 
building. 

There is a Grand Temple in close prox- 
imity, but it is not yet finished. It was com- 
menced thirty-five years ago, and has already 
cost three-and-a-half million dollars ; it is 
200 ft. long and 100 ft. wide ; the towers will 
range from 175 to 200ft. in height; it is 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 45 



constructed of granite, from a solid moun- 
tain, twenty miles from the city. The Temple 
is near completion, and will doubtless be 
finished ; but Mormonism is no longer in 
the ascendant ; polygamy, from being open 
and blatant, has been reduced to the status 
of a common crime ; the generation of fanatics 
who believed in it as a divine revelation is 
passing away, and the new generation of 
Mormons, and more especially those who are 
themselves the children of plural marriages, 
have seen too many of its evils, and had 
too bitter an experience of its cursing and 
blighting effect, to desire its continuance. 
Of course this applies only to those who 
are ordinarily decent and well-intentioned ; 
there are still many polygamists, but they 
are deprived of civil rights ; they have no 



TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 



longer the power of voting if they have 
more than one wife. The Mormons have 
always had the ruling of the Council Cham- 
ber, but now there is every appearance of 
a change ; the Gentiles express great con- 
fidence in carrying the elections in February 
next, and should they succeed, I expect 
there will be great changes for the better 
in the city and its surroundings. The 
climate is well-nigh perfection — never ex- 
treme heat or cold. We went to the 
theatre, a very fine, spacious building, and 
witnessed a performance of ' Youth ' by 
Mormon amateurs ; the building was cram- 
med to overflowing. On Sunday we went 
to the Tabernacle ; it was well-nigh im- 
possible to get one's nose in ; it was full 
to overflowing, morning, noon, and evening; 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STA TES. 47 

they have a choir of about 100 male and 
female singers. Every one remains seated 
whilst singing. 

We left Salt Lake City for Denver at 
nine a.m. on Monday, the 7th of October, a 
journey of 735 miles, by the Rio Grande 
Railway, one of the wonders of the world. 

On leaving Salt Lake City we pass 
through the beautiful and very productive 
valleys of Jordan and Utah. We saw abun- 
dance of cattle, and a large number of home- 
steads and neat-looking agricultural labourers' 
houses. On one side the Wasatch range 
towers up against the sky, and on the other 
the Oquerrh mountains have spires that seem 
to pierce the clouds — most charming scenery 
as we ascend the western slope ; and we had 
two powerful engines attached to our train, 



48 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

one of which broke down before we reached 
the summit of the Wasatch range, and we 
were detained nearly three hours. There is 
an old saying, 'It is an ill wind that blows 
nobody good/ The accident to the engine 
and delay of our journey enabled us to 
stretch our legs and enjoy the grandeur of 
the scene ; and the three hours' delay 
enabled us to arrive in the early morning in 
grand scenery, which we should have missed 
in the day. 

We passed a tolerably comfortable night 
in the train. Onward the road ascends, and 
arrives at Soldier Divide, the summit of 
Wasatch range. Descending the Divide 
we come upon the varied beauties of Castle 
Gate and Prince River Canyon. Castle 
Gate is at the extreme end of Prince River 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 49 

Canyon, through which the railroad runs 
into the very heart of the range. Garden 
Gate is formed of two huge pillars of rock, 
the offshoots of the cliffs behind ; they are 
of different heights, one measuring 500, the 
other 450 feet from the tracks to the top. 
Between the two there is only a very narrow 
space, and the river and the railway both run 
closely pressing each other. The scenerj 
constantly changes ; then comes some unin- 
teresting country, which, owing to our acci- 
dent, we passed in the night. Ascending 
the valley, beyond Montrose we entered the 
Black Canyon, and we were enraptured with 
the scenery ; and we were more especially 
so knowing we should have missed it had 
it not been for the accident to our engine. 
At times the Canyon narrows, and then 



5 o Tiro MONTHS' TOUR IN 

opens out into wide stretches, which enabled 
us to see the steep crags that tower heaven- 
ward two or three thousand feet. After the 
grandeur of the Black Canyon, which im- 
pressed us so much, we pass into the great 
valley of the Garrison River, and then the 
ascent of the Continental Divide begins, and 
the bewildering and sinuous defiles demand 
our attention. 

Looking up at the distant summit, there 
is seen a narrow rim of earth, and a line 
of snow-sheds, one far above the others. 
These mark the line of our upward and 
onward route. Soon we forget to notice 
anything but the ponderous engines mount- 
ing the* steep grades, and I must confess 
I breathed very freely when, emerging from 
a long snow-shed, the train stopped at the 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 51 

summit, and the view was replete with gran- 
deur. To the eastward, and separated by- 
countless summits which press their heads 
up at us from below, are the Sangre de 
Cristo range. Mount Ouray towers above 
all, and around it lies a sea of granite billows 
tumbled wildly together, holding in their 
embrace green valleys and sparkling streams. 
This is the backbone of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. On the west are the springs, brooks, 
and rivers that makes the Gunnison River, 
which empties into the Colorado and the 
Gulf of California, while the rivulets and 
streams on the east side, within a mile of 
the others, form the head-waters of the 
tributaries of the Arkansas River, which 
eventually forms part of the Mississippi, 
and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. We 



52 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

descend by a circuitous route, through and 
around the sides of the mountain, until we 
reach the town or city of Salida, in the 
Valley of the Arkans, a fine open plain,, 
with beautiful surrounding scenery — fine 
houses, busy streets, large schools, and 
several churches. Soon after leaving Sa- 
lida we came into the glories and gran- 
deurs of the Royal Gorge — the wonders, 
and transcendant magnificence of the Grand 
Canyon of the Arkansas. It is impossible 
for me to describe its magnificence. En- 
gineering has wrought miracles ; it would 
seem an impossibility to construct a rail- 
way. There was scarcely room for the 
river alone, and granite ledges blocked the 
way with their mighty bulk. These ob- 
structions were blasted away, and a road-bed 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 53 

made, following the contour of the cliffs, 
and a very awfully grand road it is. 

After entering its depth, the train moves 
slowly along the sides of the Arkansas, and 
around projecting shoulders of dark granite, 
deeper and deeper into the heart of the 
range. The way becomes a mere fissure. 
Far above the road the sky forms a deep 
blue arch of light, but in the gorge hang 
dark and sombre shades, which the sun's 
rays have never penetrated. The place is 
a measureless gulf, with solid walls on 
either side. Here the granite cliffs are a 
thousand feet high, smooth and unbroken, 
and there is a pinnacle soars upwards thrice 
as high. The river, sombre and swift, 
breaks the awful stillness with its roar. 
We rode through the gorge on an open 



54 TWO MONTHS* TOUR IN 



car, which is added to the train to enable 
the passengers to witness the grandeur. I 
must say I was glad when the perilous 
journey was over. I heard it said, that 
any one having the opportunity of going 
over this road w r ould be a fool not to go 
over it once, but that he would be a bigger 
fool to go over it twice. I can never 
forget its awful grandeur. 

Our next stoppage was at Florence 
Station, where w r e saw the numerous oil 
wells sending forth their thousands of barrels 
of oil, and in the immediate neighbourhood 
are also coal mines. We then proceeded 
to Pueblo, a fine city and increasing rapidly, 
a great mining district, principally lead and 
silver. There are large smelting works. 
We continued our journey, and stopped at 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 55 

Colorado Springs, and went to the Antlers 
Hotel, and most comfortable we found it. 
Seventeen years ago this was the home of 
the deer, not a house existed, and now a fine, 
flourishing city stands, and within an hours 
drive is a most lovely place called Manitou. 
I don't know that I ever saw a more 
charming, health-giving place. There are 
sulphur, iron, and soda springs, with 
thoroughly established medicinal qualities, 
several very fine hotels, which, I was told, 
are crowded during the season. The scenery 
around is simply lovely. I feel sure Colorado 
Springs will, ere long, join Manitou. It is 
growing rapidly, and will be the home of 
the wealthy. There are magnificent avenues, 
120 feet wide, lined with fine trees, and 
many large houses, costing ten to twelve 



56 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

thousand pounds each. An English Doctor 
Solly occupies one. There is also a really 
fine theatre. 

We left Colorado regretting we could 
not prolong our stay, and proceeded to 
Denver, and stayed at the Windsor Hotel. 
America is full of wonderful cities, and 
Denver is undoubtedly one of them. Only 
ten years since the population was 30,000, 
and it is now 130,000, and is growing hourly. 
The suburbs are admirably laid out on a 
great scale. The value of real estate is 
simply fabulous* There is certainly a great 
future for Denver. 

We left Denver for Omaha. The River 
Platte runs through a fine agricultural 
country, especially Grand Island, where we 
saw hundreds of small houses dotted about, 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 57 

and fine school buildings, a thriving place. 
We stopped at North Platte City, and we 
saw the farm and residence of the celebrated 
Buffalo Bill : he has a large cattle ranche. 

The whole district is one vast plain of 
rich agricultural country. At Fremont we 
rsaw one cattle store with 3,016 stalls. We 
arrived at Omaha, a thriving city, hand- 
somely built, of 125,000. We drove round 
the suburbs and saw a number of pretty 
residences, then by electric tram-car we 
crossed the Missouri River to Castle Bluffs, 
a town of 40,000, a distance of seven miles, 
from whence we took the train for Chicago 
at 9.30 p.m., and passed the night in the 
train, and arrived at Davenport, a substantial- 
built town of 4,000. We then crossed the 
Mississippi River over a bridge three-quarters 



5S TWO MONTHS" TOUR IN 

of a mile in length to Rock Island, Illinois, 
where we had delicious Lake Michigan trout 
for breakfast. We passed through thousands 
of acres of Indian corn ready for harvest, and 
forests of trees with lovely autumnal tints of 
brilliant colours. 

We stopped at Joliet, a wide-spread, well- 
built city, and saw the State Prison and a 
very fine Court House. 

We arrived at Chicago at two p.m. I 
won't attempt to describe this organized 
Babel — it beggars all description. An Ame- 
rican said to me : ' I feel afraid every time I 
go to that city ; she grows so all the time, 
days and nights, and Sundays — the smoke of 
her magic expansion ascendeth for ever and 
ever/ 

We stayed at the Palmer House Hotel ; 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 59 

there were seven hundred and eighty guests 
staying in the hotel ; it is a huge place. As 
we were only staying two nights we were 
amused seeing the crowds of extraordinary 
people coming and going. In 1831 Chicago 
was a village of twelve houses, without post 
route or a post office ; in 1 84 1 it was an 
incorporated city with a population of about 
6,000. In 1870 the population was 306,000. 
The following year the great fire destroyed 
17,500 buildings ; the burnt district covered 
three and a half square miles. Notwithstand- 
ing this terrible set-back, Chicago is now a 
magnificent city and active business mart, 
covering, with the recently annexed district, 
175 square miles, with a population of 
1,100,000; the total area of her parks is 
more than 2,000 acres. 



60 TWO MONTHS' TOUR IN 

We left Chicago at three in the afternoon, 
and had sixteen hours in the train, arriv- 
ing at Niagara Falls at seven o'clock in the 
morning. We at once proceeded to Clifton 
House, and, after a delicious bath and good 
breakfast, we revelled the whole day about 
the Falls. Every visit, and I have made 
many to Niagara Falls, increases my adora- 
tion. No place I have ever seen charms me so 
much. We had lovely, bright, sunny weather, 
and we devoted a second day, and left at 
nine a.m. for Toronto, and arrived in three 
hours, calling at Hamilton en route y a busy, 
flourishing city of 40,000, on Lake Ontario. 

Toronto is the second largest city in 
Canada. There are fine streets and good 
shops. I was made a member of the New 
Toronto Club, which I found convenient. 



CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. 61 

Left Toronto at 8.45 a.m., and arrived at 
Montreal at eight p.m., stopping at Peter- 
borough en route, a very pretty, thriving place. 
After again partaking the kind hospitality of 
Sir Donald and Lady Smith, I left Montreal 
on Thursday evening, the 24th October, for 
New York. Arrived in New York at seven 
a.m. on Friday. Met Mr. and Mrs. Kendal at 
Delmonico's, at luncheon. Congratulated 
them on their great success. Dined at the 
Union Club, and at eleven p.m. went on board 
the Umbria, to be ready for sailing at 6.30 
a.m. on Saturday, but fog delayed us until 
four p.m. We had a tolerably fair passage, 
arriving at Liverpool on Sunday at four p.m., 
and I stayed at the Adelphi Hotel. Arrived in 
London on Monday, 4th November. 

Thus, having travelled about 15,000 



6i A TWO MONTHS TOUR. 

miles through countries which fifty years 
ago were as inaccessible as Central Africa 
is to-day, who can say that Victoria Nyanza 
will not be as get-at-able as the Rocky 
Mountains ? 



LONDON 

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